1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to bicycle seat clamps.
2. The Relevant Technology
A conventional bicycle seat includes a top surface on which a bicyclist sits and a bottom surface from which mounting rods extend. Other bicycle seats have a single “I beam” style mounting rod structure. A seat clamp can be secured to the mounting rods or rod and is used to secure the seat to the bicycle frame. Many seat clamps permit a user to manually adjust the position of the seat relative to the frame. For example, some seat clamps permit a user to adjust the position of the seat forward and rearward relative to the frame. This forward or rearward movement of the seat is referred to herein as “longitudinal displacement.” Some seat clamps permit a user to adjust the forward or rearward tilt of the seat relative to the frame. Such adjustability of the seat permits an operator to optimize comfort and/or performance.
Conventional seat clamps, however, have a number of shortcomings. For example, most adjustable seat clamps require that the longitudinal displacement and tilt of the seat be simultaneously adjusted. This design makes it difficult to fine tune seat adjustment when only one of the longitudinal displacement or tilt adjustments is desired. Furthermore, adjustable seat clamps are often structurally complex, difficult to adjust, and can have increased weight. In addition, most adjustable seat clamps have a fixed seat clamping position and permit only very limited longitudinal displacement of the seat. While some adjustable seat clamps can be reversed to provide a second clamping offset position, those designs do not provide usable tilt adjustment ranges when in that reversed position.
Accordingly, what is needed in the art are seat clamps that improve on one or more of the above shortcomings.